Hartz-IV Tenants
Last Updated on Monday, 31 January 2011 12:27 Written by wolf Tuesday, 27 October 2009 11:47
Verdict of the Federal High Court: Hartz-IV Tenants to be protected
Today the Federal High Court made a decision in favour of a recipient of Hartz 4, whose lease was terminated without prior notice (BGH AZ: VIII ZR 64/09). The landlord terminated his lease because the Jobcenter transferred the rental payments onto his account too late on four occasions.
Federal High Court: “If the Jobcenter pays the rent too late, the landlord may not give his tenant termination without prior notice. The Jobcenter, which takes on the responsibility for the accommodation costs of a needy tenant in such a way that it transfers it directly to the landlord of the recipient, is no vicarious agent to the tenant.”
A vicarious agent can only be a person that has been appointed to, for example, pay the rent in your place. You, as recipient of ALG II-benefits, did not appoint the Jobcenter to do so. Therefore the Jobcenter is the guilty party.
The justices ruled: tenants may not be held responsible for the shortfalls of official / governmental institutions. Chairman of the Federal High Court Justices Wolfgang Ball criticised the cumbersome behaviour of governmental institutions in his grounds for the verdict: it would be perfectly possible for the Jobcenter to transfer the funds to the landlords’ accounts on time. As became apparent, the problem of belated rent payments by institutions is not an isolated case. Many of the concerned bemoan the repeatedly belated payments of the institutions responsible, causing repeated conflicts between tenants and their landlords.
